UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
Teacher’s Name : Russell Warren Lesson #: 2Facet: Empathy
Grade Level : 9&10 Numbers of Days: 2 days
Topic: Themes, Color, and The World + The Great Gatsby
PART I:
Objectives
Students will understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world.
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream'.
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Product: Podcast
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard #7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
Rationale: The second lesson will test the students’ understanding of the culture of the Roaring Twenties. The class will provide a brief look at the economy, music, imagery, politics, and ideas of the period that influenced Fitzgerald’s conception of The Great Gatsby .
Assessments
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding during instruction
Throughout class students will have to continually fill out a Venn Diagram where they compare and contrast the past and present.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
- Students will fill out a cumulative rubric checklist
where they will evaluate their podcast for content, clarity, and comprehension.
- Teacher will provide weekly feedback on the blog posts.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Podcast: To demonstrate your knowledge of the Roaring Twenties and the framework of The Great Gatsby , you will create a Podcast project. It will consist of you interviewing a person straight out of the Jazz Age, questioning them on their daily life, morals, beliefs, desires, etc. (20/150)
Integration
Technology:
The Podcast will utilize Garage Band for the students to record and edit their audio reports, and they will have to use iTunes to upload their final product to the Podcast database.
Content Areas:
English: The blogger will be continually checked for proper syntax, grammar, and sentence structure. The students will also be directly relating the information learned in the classroom to their daily experiences, showing application and understanding of the material.
Social Studies: The students will be required to investigate the 1920’s era and apply it to modern times.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
The Persuasion Map will be used by students to come to a conclusion about the Roaring Twenties by analyzing specific parts of the time period ad relating them to the time period.
Find The Fib will be used as a test for the students’ understanding of the time period. Students will be in groups of three, with two students representing a truth and one representing a lie about the novel and the time period.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
The product, the Podcast, will require students to be in groups of four. In these groups, the students will have to designate two voice actors, a head writer, and a head editor.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: The students will have a blog assignment relating the Roaring Twenties to the present.
Logic: The Persuasion Map will require students to web together various facets of the era and come to a conclusion that relates to the novel.
Visual: There will be an immersive look into the style and culture of New York City in the 1920s.
Musical: The hook and basis of the lesson is jazz music. We'll look closely at the sounds and lyrics.
Kinesthetic: Stations will be used to discover different facets of the time period.
Intrapersonal: The Podcast will necessitate an in-depth look at comparing how the life of a singular person of the twenties was, and relating it to the 21st century.
Interpersonal: Find the Fib will be an entertaining classroom activity where the students will have to work together to discover the truth.
Naturalist: Part of the opening discussion will include an explanation of the geography of the novel and the importance of New York City and the Eggs.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s ( Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan)I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
I will upload all worksheets and links to the class blog and ask a student that was in class to share their work with the absent student, and urge the students to meet with me / form an email correspondence. In my blog posts will be a review of what occurred in class and links to all videos, etc. we viewed, along with an explanation of their importance. They will also have to finish the same Quick Write blog post as the other students, just on a later deadline.
Extensions
Type II technology:
The students will have learned plenty of rich history and information about the Jazz Age. To enhance this material, students will use Podcast and Garage Band to record and create an interview with a person straight out of the era, giving a physical voice to the textbook history. Also, the blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. This digital record allows the students to look back on their work and revise, and also view other students' blog posts and collaborate on the Internet by commenting.
Gifted Students:
Students with a higher caliber understanding of the material will have the opportunity to delve deeper into different Internet resources provided by the teacher. The teacher will also assign these students to be team leaders in the activities of the Persuasion Map, Find the Fib, and Podcast. The students will also have extra class time to work on their blog posts.
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan)Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (3-5 pages)
Room Arrangement: The desks will be grouped together to make six stations.
Day One: Welcome to the Roaring Twenties! (80 minutes)
Hook: Play the ‘Dance Craze’ video and urge students to stand up and dance as well. Teach them the Charleston! (10)
Opener: Explain the lesson for the next two days. (5)
First Activity: Set up six stations – music, basic life, Prohibition, New York City, the American Dream, and entertainment. Each student will move from station to station, watching videos or investigating websites to learn about the time period. During this they will be filling out their Venn diagrams. (40)
Second Activity: Students will form groups and work on the Find the Fib activity. After a quick discussion of their findings and deciding on their truths and lies, we will play the game as a whole class. (10)
Blog synthesis: The teacher, after viewing last class’ blogs, will lead a class discussion on any common points throughout the blogs, paying special attention to highlighting words specific students said (10)
Assignment: Quick Write blog post – What is an overarching theme (idea) you see being represented in the images, music, etc. of the Jazz Age? How does this affect The Great Gatsby ? Also list questions, complaints, or any other thoughts you have. (5)
Day Two: Reaching to the Past (80 minutes)
Hook: View ‘after party’ scenes of The Great Gatsby (10)
Opener: Blog synthesis - The teacher, after viewing the blogs, will lead a class discussion on any common points throughout the blogs, paying special attention to highlighting words specific students said (10)
First Activity: Have students use their Venn Diagrams to fill out the Persuasion Map and create an essential question. Students will work in groups. (20)
Second Activity: Split students into groups of four, and explain the Podcast. Rest of the period will be used to work on the Podcast. It will be due for next class – no blog post, homework is to finish Podcast. (40)
Students understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world. After discussing the themes and ideas used in the novel, these two classes will delve into the creation of the themes and ideas and how ingrained they were in the culture of the Roaring Twenties. Students will complete a station activity where they investigate different aspects of the era, and fill out a Venn diagram and play Find the Fib to create a concrete vision of the time period. They will then complete a Persuasion Map to form a conclusion about the time period, then present their knowledge by creating a Podcast where they interview a person of the Roaring Twenties and interview them on their life, morals, and beliefs.
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment . This lesson will be based on comparing the actual time period to the representation in The Great Gatsby. Questions for students to consider:
Why did the time period and cultural changes have such an impact on Fitzgerald’s novel?
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream' (See content notes). During each day the students will investigate the themes of the novel and try to understand what they mean and how they relate to the world the characters lived in. Building on their investigation of theme from lesson 1, lesson 2 will have the students delve into how the themes played into actual life in the Roaring Twenties. To learn about the whole picture of the era, students will work on various stations (explained in the content notes) where they will watch, listen, and learn about the Jazz Age. During this process they will fill out a Venn diagram to organize their thoughts and compare and contrast that era with our current one. The worksheets will be one part of CFU – the students will also engage in a Find The Fib activity, where they will have to come up with two facts and one lie, and the classmates will decide what is true and what is false. This will help make sure the students grasp the history.
Students will be able to consider why the themes were relevant at the time period of the Roaring Twenties by creating a Podcast interview. Students will form groups of four and begin work on a Persuasion Map. Taking specific examples from the stations they visited, the students will attempt to provide answers to an essential question or statement they create on their own. This map will be used as a storyboard for their main product, a podcast. The group of four will be split into roles – two assigned actors, one assigned editor, and one assigned writer. These are just suggestions, as all students in the group should be contributing to each facet of making a Podcast. They will have to express their knowledge of the time period and how the themes of the novel were reality to the people of the era.
Part of their blog assignments will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights by responding to content questions. Students will have the assignment to read other students' blogs and respond to them as a peer review. Students will also personally grade their own and classmates’ Podcasts on rubrics checklists
that look for content, correctness, and comprehension of the material. Finally, the teacher will provide constant comments and responses to the students' blog posts and present quick syntheses at the beginning of each class.
Evaluate, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Interpersonal
Content Notes
Students will know…..
Because it’s incredibly important for the students to understand the themes of the novel, two days of the unit will be totally dedicated to presenting a vivid image for the students of the Roaring Twenties. The time period was soaked in excess and extravagance and change, and these themes are incredibly prevalent in the novel. Students will have to grasp that even though these are ideas and themes in a fictional novel, they are totally based in reality.
A six-station activity will be used to give students an idea of the width and grandness the time period expressed. At each station students will be required to jot down notes on their Venn Diagrams. They are as follows: 1) Music – This video on music will be viewed by the students, and they will be asked to find a song of their choice and read the lyrics. The music of the time period was happy, energetic, extremely new, and relatively raunchy, creating a sense of urgent change and loose morals. 2) Basic Life – This video will be watched for students to get a basic understanding of how life in the 1920’s was. They will also investigate this website , which provides links to such topics like gardening, architecture, art, etc. 3) Prohibition – Students will search through this website and learn about the profound impact Prohibition had on the time period. Rather than lessening the impact alcohol had on society, it only intensified its power and abundance and fueled the raging parties of the time. 4) NYC – Students will investigate this website and watch this video to learn about the allure of the big city. New York was the symbol of America; a rich, vibrant place full of wealth, lights, and opportunity. However, there was also a seedy and sad side, where drug lords did deals, illegal alcohol was smuggled in the middle of the night, and people lived in incredible squalor. 5) American Dream – This rich resource will be read by students to get an idea of what the American Dream is and how it relates to the characters in the novel. 6) Entertainment – Students will watch the party scene from the 70’s version of The Great Gatsby . Afterwards, Find the Fib will be created by the students to assess their comprehension of the multiple topics presented.
On the second day, students will use the Persuasion Chart to come to a conclusion, much like F. Scott Fitzgerald did, about the time period. They will use their Venn Diagrams and the rich investigations they completed to form an answer to an essential question they create. Examples are: Why did people run after the American Dream? How did the loose morals and crazy parties after people’s minds? Were people emotionally healthy? Fitzgerald created The Great Gatsby as a relevant social critique – he viewed people to be allured by beauty and light, but behind all the glory was sadness and loss. These beliefs, masterfully shown through the actions of the novel and the characters interactions with the world around them, were formed from the events of the time period.
The rest of the class will be used to work on the Podcast. Students will be expected to showcase their knowledge of the time period will also giving a voice to their conclusions created in the Persuasion Maps. This product will assess the students understanding of how the events and social changes of the time period affected the general public, and how they might have viewed the world around them. From this, the teacher will be able to assess their understanding of the themes of the novel and how they play into the events of The Great Gatsby .
Handouts
Persuasion Maps Venn Diagrams Podcast rubrics checklists Quick Write assignments Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will utilize two separate worksheets that require planned organization, comparing and contrasting and relating information. This requires detailed, rational responses and clear, coherent wording to convey meaning.
Microscope: Students will be assigned to think critically through their Persuasion maps. They will be required to investigate the time period and social changes that affected it, and come to a conclusion based on the information they discover.
Puppy: Throughout class discussion, students' feelings and opinions will be supported and the room will foster positivity and creativity. The blog synthesis will address specific students and praise them, give constructive criticism, or answer questions, all on a personal basis.
Beach Ball: Day One will be focused on the station activity, where students will be moving around the room and rotating through ideas. A large portion of Day Two will allow the students to move around the room and brainstorm and work on their Podcasts in any way they’d like to.
Rationale: The second lesson is all about investigating the Jazz Age. Students will be require to logically extrapolate information from various resources and materials, and organize them on graphic worksheets to produce a coherent argument. Students will work in small, cooperative groups that move from subject to subject and around the room.
Standard 6 -Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on growth , growth,
to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative: The Venn Diagram, which will be passed in at the end, will be a visual representation of the students’ knowledge and understanding of the many different stations they encountered. Find the Fib, played during the class, will also give a hint to the students’ comprehension of the ideas and themes of the Jazz Age. As always, the blog posts will be focused on the student responding to their experiences in class, and I will look for areas lacking understanding and specific stressors.
Summative: Both the Persuasion Map and Podcast will be graded for comprehension of the time period and importance of the themes and ideas of the time period to the creation of The Great Gatsby . At the end of the unit, the blog posts will be graded for comprehension, clarity, and completion. As all students' opinions are justifiable, they will not be graded for 'correctness', but their explanation of their thoughts and progress. The Quick Write portions will allow the teacher to grade some of the blog entries in a more objective manner, paying attention to factuality.
Rationale: The Find the Fib activity, Venn diagram, and blog post will allow the teacher to assess the students’ understanding and comprehension of many different aspects of live in the Roaring Twenties. The teacher can then edit the Persuasion Map and Podcast to the students' general and specific knowledge bases. The blog posts, as a summative assessment, will allow the teacher to grade for growing content comprehension, linguistic and writing skills, and enhanced application of the subject matter.
Rationale:
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross -disciplinary cross-disciplinary
skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
(See Content Notes)
MLR or CCSS:Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Facet: Students will consider why the themes of the novel were relevant and important at the time Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby.
Standard 8 -Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: The students will have a blog assignment relating the Roaring Twenties to the present.
Logic: The Persuasion Map will require students to web together various facets of the era and come to a conclusion that relates to the novel.
Visual: There will be an immersive look into the style and culture of New York City in the 1920s.
Musical: The hook and basis of the lesson is jazz music. We'll look closely at the sounds and lyrics.
Kinesthetic: Stations will be used to discover different facets of the time period.
Intrapersonal: The Podcast will necessitate an in-depth look at comparing how the life of a singular person of the twenties was, and relating it to the 21st century.
Interpersonal: Find the Fib will be an entertaining classroom activity where the students will have to work together to discover the truth.
Naturalist: Part of the opening discussion will include an explanation of the geography of the novel and the importance of New York City and the Eggs.
Type II Technology:
Podcast
Rationale: Students will consistently have the opportunity to work within their strongest multiple intelligence. While the verbal, logical, visual, intra- and inter- skills are fairly self-explanatory and easy to accomplish, much of the class will be looking into how music affected the time period, and how the geography of the bustling metropolis of New York City affected the people of the time period.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: The entire lesson will require students to think abstractly on the material and understand the content. The best way to do this is through fun. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique representations information they learned by creating a Podcast. Student interaction will also be fostered, students having the ability to work with others to discuss ideas and come to conclusions.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: The lesson will utilize computer services like iTunes’ Podcast and Garage Band to enhance their learning. They will use audio tools to create an era-appropriate interview. They can use the group feature of Google Drive to work collaboratively and come to group conclusions together online.
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE AT FARMINGTON
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, HEALTH AND REHABILITATION
Teacher’s Name : Russell Warren Lesson #: 2 Facet: Empathy
Grade Level : 9&10 Numbers of Days: 2 days
Topic: Themes, Color, and The World + The Great Gatsby
PART I:
Objectives
Students will understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world.
Students will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream'.
Students will be able to relate the themes of the novel to their own world.
Product: Podcast
Maine Learning Results (MLR) or Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Alignment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Standard #7: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment.
Rationale: The second lesson will test the students’ understanding of the culture of the Roaring Twenties. The class will provide a brief look at the economy, music, imagery, politics, and ideas of the period that influenced Fitzgerald’s conception of The Great Gatsby .
Assessments
Formative (Assessment for Learning)
Section I – checking for understanding during instruction
Throughout class students will have to continually fill out a Venn Diagram where they compare and contrast the past and present.
Section II – timely feedback for products (self, peer, teacher)
- Students will fill out a cumulative
rubric checklist
where they will evaluate their podcast for content, clarity, and comprehension.
- Teacher will provide weekly feedback on the blog posts.
Summative (Assessment of Learning):
Podcast: To demonstrate your knowledge of the Roaring Twenties and the framework of The Great Gatsby , you will create a Podcast project. It will consist of you interviewing a person straight out of the Jazz Age, questioning them on their daily life, morals, beliefs, desires, etc. (20/150)
Integration
Technology:
The Podcast will utilize Garage Band for the students to record and edit their audio reports, and they will have to use iTunes to upload their final product to the Podcast database.
Content Areas:
English: The blogger will be continually checked for proper syntax, grammar, and sentence structure. The students will also be directly relating the information learned in the classroom to their daily experiences, showing application and understanding of the material.
Social Studies: The students will be required to investigate the 1920’s era and apply it to modern times.
Groupings
Section I - Graphic Organizer & Cooperative Learning used during instruction
The Persuasion Map will be used by students to come to a conclusion about the Roaring Twenties by analyzing specific parts of the time period ad relating them to the time period.
Find The Fib will be used as a test for the students’ understanding of the time period. Students will be in groups of three, with two students representing a truth and one representing a lie about the novel and the time period.
Section II – Groups and Roles for Product
The product, the Podcast, will require students to be in groups of four. In these groups, the students will have to designate two voice actors, a head writer, and a head editor.
Differentiated Instruction
MI Strategies
Verbal: The students will have a blog assignment relating the Roaring Twenties to the present.
Logic: The Persuasion Map will require students to web together various facets of the era and come to a conclusion that relates to the novel.
Visual: There will be an immersive look into the style and culture of New York City in the 1920s.
Musical: The hook and basis of the lesson is jazz music. We'll look closely at the sounds and lyrics.
Kinesthetic: Stations will be used to discover different facets of the time period.
Intrapersonal: The Podcast will necessitate an in-depth look at comparing how the life of a singular person of the twenties was, and relating it to the 21st century.
Interpersonal: Find the Fib will be an entertaining classroom activity where the students will have to work together to discover the truth.
Naturalist: Part of the opening discussion will include an explanation of the geography of the novel and the importance of New York City and the Eggs.
Modifications/Accommodations
From IEP’s ( Individual Education Plan), 504’s, ELLIDEP (English Language Learning Instructional Delivery Education Plan) I will review student’s IEP, 504 or ELLIDEP and make appropriate modifications and accommodations.
Plan for accommodating absent students:
I will upload all worksheets and links to the class blog and ask a student that was in class to share their work with the absent student, and urge the students to meet with me / form an email correspondence. In my blog posts will be a review of what occurred in class and links to all videos, etc. we viewed, along with an explanation of their importance. They will also have to finish the same Quick Write blog post as the other students, just on a later deadline.
Extensions
Type II technology:
The students will have learned plenty of rich history and information about the Jazz Age. To enhance this material, students will use Podcast and Garage Band to record and create an interview with a person straight out of the era, giving a physical voice to the textbook history. Also, the blogger is based online using the blogger.com website, or whatever blogging site the students are most comfortable with. This digital record allows the students to look back on their work and revise, and also view other students' blog posts and collaborate on the Internet by commenting.
Gifted Students:
Students with a higher caliber understanding of the material will have the opportunity to delve deeper into different Internet resources provided by the teacher. The teacher will also assign these students to be team leaders in the activities of the Persuasion Map, Find the Fib, and Podcast. The students will also have extra class time to work on their blog posts.
Materials, Resources and Technology
Literature copies of The Great Gatsby
DVD copy of The Great Gatsby
CD of Jazz Age music
Laptops
Projector
Speakers
Persuasion Maps
Venn Diagrams
Blog prompt worksheets
Source for Lesson Plan and Research
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/persuasion.pdf - Persuasion map
http://blogger.com/ - Blogger
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf - Venn Diagram
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNAOHtmy4j0 - 'Dance Craze' Roaring Twenties
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=684n8FO68LU - To Live in 20s
http://www.1920-30.com/ - Snapshot of the 20s
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/themes.html - Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in the novel
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/educator/modules/teachingthetwenties/ - Teaching the Twenties
http://prohibition.osu.edu/ - Prohibition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjxnI9TsWL4 - resource on Music
PART II:
Teaching and Learning Sequence (Describe the teaching and learning process using all of the information from part I of the lesson plan) Take all the components and synthesize into a script of what you are doing as the teacher and what the learners are doing throughout the lesson. Need to use all the WHERETO’s. (3-5 pages)
Room Arrangement: The desks will be grouped together to make six stations.
Day One: Welcome to the Roaring Twenties! (80 minutes)
Day Two: Reaching to the Past (80 minutes)
Students understand that recurring themes are included to not only instill an idea, but give insight to our and the author's world. After discussing the themes and ideas used in the novel, these two classes will delve into the creation of the themes and ideas and how ingrained they were in the culture of the Roaring Twenties. Students will complete a station activity where they investigate different aspects of the era, and fill out a Venn diagram and play Find the Fib to create a concrete vision of the time period. They will then complete a Persuasion Map to form a conclusion about the time period, then present their knowledge by creating a Podcast where they interview a person of the Roaring Twenties and interview them on their life, morals, and beliefs.
Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment . This lesson will be based on comparing the actual time period to the representation in The Great Gatsby. Questions for students to consider:
- Why did the time period and cultural changes have such an impact on Fitzgerald’s novel?
- How different is the Jazz Age compared to now?
Where, Why, What, Hook, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Visual, Musical, Intrapersonal, InterpersonalStudents will know what formed Fitzgerald's novel and theory on the 'American Dream' (See content notes). During each day the students will investigate the themes of the novel and try to understand what they mean and how they relate to the world the characters lived in. Building on their investigation of theme from lesson 1, lesson 2 will have the students delve into how the themes played into actual life in the Roaring Twenties. To learn about the whole picture of the era, students will work on various stations (explained in the content notes) where they will watch, listen, and learn about the Jazz Age. During this process they will fill out a Venn diagram to organize their thoughts and compare and contrast that era with our current one. The worksheets will be one part of CFU – the students will also engage in a Find The Fib activity, where they will have to come up with two facts and one lie, and the classmates will decide what is true and what is false. This will help make sure the students grasp the history.
Equip, Explore, Rethink, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Visual, Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalist
Students will be able to consider why the themes were relevant at the time period of the Roaring Twenties by creating a Podcast interview. Students will form groups of four and begin work on a Persuasion Map. Taking specific examples from the stations they visited, the students will attempt to provide answers to an essential question or statement they create on their own. This map will be used as a storyboard for their main product, a podcast. The group of four will be split into roles – two assigned actors, one assigned editor, and one assigned writer. These are just suggestions, as all students in the group should be contributing to each facet of making a Podcast. They will have to express their knowledge of the time period and how the themes of the novel were reality to the people of the era.
Explore, Experience, Rethink, Revise, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Intrapersonal
Part of their blog assignments will include a Quick Write prompt where the students will think back on their knowledge and express any confusion or insights by responding to content questions. Students will have the assignment to read other students' blogs and respond to them as a peer review. Students will also personally grade their own and classmates’ Podcasts on
rubrics checklists
that look for content, correctness, and comprehension of the material. Finally, the teacher will provide constant comments and responses to the students' blog posts and present quick syntheses at the beginning of each class.
Evaluate, Tailors: Verbal, Logic, Interpersonal
Content Notes
Students will know…..
Because it’s incredibly important for the students to understand the themes of the novel, two days of the unit will be totally dedicated to presenting a vivid image for the students of the Roaring Twenties. The time period was soaked in excess and extravagance and change, and these themes are incredibly prevalent in the novel. Students will have to grasp that even though these are ideas and themes in a fictional novel, they are totally based in reality.
A six-station activity will be used to give students an idea of the width and grandness the time period expressed. At each station students will be required to jot down notes on their Venn Diagrams. They are as follows:
1) Music – This video on music will be viewed by the students, and they will be asked to find a song of their choice and read the lyrics. The music of the time period was happy, energetic, extremely new, and relatively raunchy, creating a sense of urgent change and loose morals.
2) Basic Life – This video will be watched for students to get a basic understanding of how life in the 1920’s was. They will also investigate this website , which provides links to such topics like gardening, architecture, art, etc.
3) Prohibition – Students will search through this website and learn about the profound impact Prohibition had on the time period. Rather than lessening the impact alcohol had on society, it only intensified its power and abundance and fueled the raging parties of the time.
4) NYC – Students will investigate this website and watch this video to learn about the allure of the big city. New York was the symbol of America; a rich, vibrant place full of wealth, lights, and opportunity. However, there was also a seedy and sad side, where drug lords did deals, illegal alcohol was smuggled in the middle of the night, and people lived in incredible squalor.
5) American Dream – This rich resource will be read by students to get an idea of what the American Dream is and how it relates to the characters in the novel.
6) Entertainment – Students will watch the party scene from the 70’s version of The Great Gatsby .
Afterwards, Find the Fib will be created by the students to assess their comprehension of the multiple topics presented.
On the second day, students will use the Persuasion Chart to come to a conclusion, much like F. Scott Fitzgerald did, about the time period. They will use their Venn Diagrams and the rich investigations they completed to form an answer to an essential question they create. Examples are: Why did people run after the American Dream? How did the loose morals and crazy parties after people’s minds? Were people emotionally healthy? Fitzgerald created The Great Gatsby as a relevant social critique – he viewed people to be allured by beauty and light, but behind all the glory was sadness and loss. These beliefs, masterfully shown through the actions of the novel and the characters interactions with the world around them, were formed from the events of the time period.
The rest of the class will be used to work on the Podcast. Students will be expected to showcase their knowledge of the time period will also giving a voice to their conclusions created in the Persuasion Maps. This product will assess the students understanding of how the events and social changes of the time period affected the general public, and how they might have viewed the world around them. From this, the teacher will be able to assess their understanding of the themes of the novel and how they play into the events of The Great Gatsby .
Handouts
Persuasion Maps
Venn Diagrams
Podcast
rubrics checklists
Quick Write assignments
Maine Common Core Teaching Standards for Initial Teacher Certification and Rationale
Standard 1 – Learner Development. The teacher understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences.
Learning Styles
Clipboard: Students will utilize two separate worksheets that require planned organization, comparing and contrasting and relating information. This requires detailed, rational responses and clear, coherent wording to convey meaning.
Microscope: Students will be assigned to think critically through their Persuasion maps. They will be required to investigate the time period and social changes that affected it, and come to a conclusion based on the information they discover.
Puppy: Throughout class discussion, students' feelings and opinions will be supported and the room will foster positivity and creativity. The blog synthesis will address specific students and praise them, give constructive criticism, or answer questions, all on a personal basis.
Beach Ball: Day One will be focused on the station activity, where students will be moving around the room and rotating through ideas. A large portion of Day Two will allow the students to move around the room and brainstorm and work on their Podcasts in any way they’d like to.
Rationale: The second lesson is all about investigating the Jazz Age. Students will be require to logically extrapolate information from various resources and materials, and organize them on graphic worksheets to produce a coherent argument. Students will work in small, cooperative groups that move from subject to subject and around the room.
Standard 6 - Assessment. The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to engage learners in their on
growth , growth,
to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teacher's and learner's decision making.
Formative: The Venn Diagram, which will be passed in at the end, will be a visual representation of the students’ knowledge and understanding of the many different stations they encountered. Find the Fib, played during the class, will also give a hint to the students’ comprehension of the ideas and themes of the Jazz Age. As always, the blog posts will be focused on the student responding to their experiences in class, and I will look for areas lacking understanding and specific stressors.
Summative: Both the Persuasion Map and Podcast will be graded for comprehension of the time period and importance of the themes and ideas of the time period to the creation of The Great Gatsby . At the end of the unit, the blog posts will be graded for comprehension, clarity, and completion. As all students' opinions are justifiable, they will not be graded for 'correctness', but their explanation of their thoughts and progress. The Quick Write portions will allow the teacher to grade some of the blog entries in a more objective manner, paying attention to factuality.
Rationale: The Find the Fib activity, Venn diagram, and blog post will allow the teacher to assess the students’ understanding and comprehension of many different aspects of live in the Roaring Twenties. The teacher can then edit the Persuasion Map and Podcast to the students' general and specific knowledge bases. The blog posts, as a summative assessment, will allow the teacher to grade for growing content comprehension, linguistic and writing skills, and enhanced application of the subject matter.
Rationale:
Standard 7 - Planning Instruction. The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum,
cross -disciplinary cross-disciplinary
skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
Content Knowledge:
(See Content Notes)
MLR or CCSS: Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two or more different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment
Common Core State Standards
Content Area: English
Grade Level: 9 & 10
Domain: Reading - Literature
Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Facet: Students will consider why the themes of the novel were relevant and important at the time Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby.
Standard 8 - Instructional Strategies. The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
MI Strategies:
Verbal: The students will have a blog assignment relating the Roaring Twenties to the present.
Logic: The Persuasion Map will require students to web together various facets of the era and come to a conclusion that relates to the novel.
Visual: There will be an immersive look into the style and culture of New York City in the 1920s.
Musical: The hook and basis of the lesson is jazz music. We'll look closely at the sounds and lyrics.
Kinesthetic: Stations will be used to discover different facets of the time period.
Intrapersonal: The Podcast will necessitate an in-depth look at comparing how the life of a singular person of the twenties was, and relating it to the 21st century.
Interpersonal: Find the Fib will be an entertaining classroom activity where the students will have to work together to discover the truth.
Naturalist: Part of the opening discussion will include an explanation of the geography of the novel and the importance of New York City and the Eggs.
Type II Technology:
Podcast
Rationale: Students will consistently have the opportunity to work within their strongest multiple intelligence. While the verbal, logical, visual, intra- and inter- skills are fairly self-explanatory and easy to accomplish, much of the class will be looking into how music affected the time period, and how the geography of the bustling metropolis of New York City affected the people of the time period.
NETS STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
1. Facilitates and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
Rationale: The entire lesson will require students to think abstractly on the material and understand the content. The best way to do this is through fun. Students will have the opportunity to create their own unique representations information they learned by creating a Podcast. Student interaction will also be fostered, students having the ability to work with others to discuss ideas and come to conclusions.
2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS-S.
a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
b. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
Rationale: The lesson will utilize computer services like iTunes’ Podcast and Garage Band to enhance their learning. They will use audio tools to create an era-appropriate interview. They can use the group feature of Google Drive to work collaboratively and come to group conclusions together online.